Midnight
by goddess.of.snow.33
Summary: Ino finds Sakura on the roof of the Hokage’s Mansion. InoSaku. Romance, drama and angst, with a happy ending!


**A/N: **First off, Sakura is awesome. I don't care what anybody else has to say. She's one of my favorite characters, and it's not like she doesn't have flaws of anything, it's just that she's really interesting and unique. Second, InoSaku is my new favorite pairing! I absolutely love it! And the poem by Izumi Shikibu (she's one of my favorite poets) just really fits this scene a lot, so I put it at the beginning. It's amazing her poetry is translated out of Japanese—I mean, it sounds so natural in English you'd think it was written in English! Anyway, enjoy the fic. And don't be fooled at the beginning—this is not SasuSaku, heaven forbid . . .

xxx

_I cannot say_

_which is which:_

_the glowing_

_plum blossom __**is**_

_the spring night's moon._

_- Izumi Shikibu_

— — —\——/—Midnight—\——/— — —

She stood on the roof of the Hokage's Mansion. The moon filled the empty sky with a pale light, white as a flame behind the glowing cherry blossoms of the blooming trees. Nights in the spring were often this clear, but tonight there was also a strong wind, flattening the grass along the sides of hills and chasing clouds from the sky.

The kunoichi leaned against the cold metal of the railing, staring into the night. She couldn't sleep on nights like these when the very air seemed to be restless, pulling at something inside her. Sakura shifted, sighing. She shivered as the wind wrapped around her. It felt almost solid, like she was being engulfed in the coils of a giant snake, so cold that she could no longer feel things clearly.

She collapsed to the ground, moving closer to the metal bars of the railing and resting her cheek against one as she gazed out at the moon behind the cherry trees. The metal was colder than the air, which made it uncomfortable to sit there, but Sakura was numb to it.

The cold makes no difference to one whose mind is elsewhere.

The kunoichi closed her eyes, finally relaxing. Here, where she was alone, she could let out all the tears that she had been hiding. There was no one to see her or comfort her with empty words, and that's the way she wanted it.

She breathed in shakily, wiping the tears from her face. Somehow this moment felt eternal—the glowing cherry blossoms silhouetted in front of the full moon, the weight of the darkness around her—she found some solace in it, some bit of peace to soothe the pain in her chest.

A new flood of tears coursed down her cheeks. Worthlessness and triviality were the only things she could see in herself. She had never been strong or brave or talented like the other Genin. She had always lurked in other's shadows.

In Ino's shadow. And then in Sasuke's.

The Uchiha was everything she was not and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be like him—he was strong, she was weak, he didn't let himself feel a thing, but her mind reeled with emotion.

And Ino admired him!

Why couldn't she be like Sasuke?

Before he had left, Sakura had lurked in his shadow, always trying to catch his eye, to be like him. Always trying, no matter how discouraged she felt.

But she had no more of that courage left. It was all pointless.

Sakura bowed her head, shielding her face from the cold wind. "Sasuke . . ." she whispered, eyes filling with new tears. Why wasn't she worth something, worth anything? "Sasuke!" she sobbed, burying her face in her arms and pulling her knees closer. It was the only comfort she could give herself.

xxx

Ino's sandals tapped quietly along the hall of the Hokage's Mansion. She turned a corner and came to stand in front of Sakura's room—the pink-haired kunoichi had started living there since it was more useful for her training to be close to her sensei. Ino missed seeing Sakura around the village. She never saw the pink-haired girl much anymore. Ino even missed walking with her rival to the Academy when they were younger, but she would never admit that.

The blonde knocked, scowling when no one answered. She pushed the door open—it wasn't locked—and stepped into the room. Sakura had left the blinds open, and the wind was blowing them about, the scarlet silk flapping frantically.

From the corner of Ino's eye, she spotted another bit of scarlet. She turned to look at Sakura's bed and walked over to stand beside it. Half-way hidden under the pillow was a ribbon. Ino's eyes widened. Sakura had kept it—that symbol of their old friendship.

She gently drew it out and held it in her hands. She needed to find Sakura.

Clenching the ribbon in her fist, Ino dashed from the room, stopping as she glanced up and down the hallway. The door to the roof had been left partly open. Without a second thought, Ino rushed to it, only then pausing to collect herself.

Maybe some wounds couldn't be healed?

"No," Ino whispered, willing back the tears that threatened to appear in her eyes. "No." She opened the door and walked up the flight of stairs, coming out on the roof of the Hokage's Mansion under the bright moonlight.

Sakura was sitting by the railing, arms wrapped around herself. Ino took a step towards her rival but stopped, drawing in her breath sharply as Sakura started to speak.

"Sasuke . . ." the pink-haired kunoichi whispered. Ino could tell that she had been crying from the way her voice broke. "Sasuke!" Sakura repeated, burying her face in her arms. Every bit of Ino's body seethed.

"Did you love him, Sakura?"

xxx

"Did you love him, Sakura?"

Her head snapped around to stare at the owner of the voice. Ino stood in the middle of the roof, arms crossed. "I said, did you love him?" she gritted out between her teeth.

Sakura didn't bother wiping the tears of her cheeks. "No!" she snapped. "It was just a silly crush." She held Ino's gaze. Neither of them looked away, each determined to hold out longer than the other. "Why did you come here?" she asked sourly, interrupting the period of tense silence.

"I like to watch the moon," Ino said mechanically, mocking her rival with the obvious lie.

Sakura stood up and fumed at the blonde kunoichi. "Then you can watch it from somewhere else!"

"No, this is the best spot."

Sakura scowled and turned away, resting her elbows on the railing. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, growling in annoyance.

She felt, rather than saw, that Ino had come to stand beside her. She desperately wished the other girl wasn't there--she didn't want to talk to Ino. She didn't want to _think_ about Ino!

Sakura was surprised when her rival remained silent. The silence grew and the wind roared in her ears. Leaves were being tossed in front of the moon, glowing in its powerful white light. She felt tense.

She didn't understand. "Why did you come here?" she repeated, voice low.

Ino turned to look at her, eyes flickering. "Do you really hate my company that much?" Her tone was calm but the quivering of her hands betrayed her anger.

"You're . . ."

"I'm what?" Ino whispered harshly.

Sakura raised a hand to her cheek, feeling the dampness left by her tears. "You're the one who made me feel this way."

"What?"

"You're the one who made me feel worthless!" Sakura snarled. "I wanted Sasuke's attention because I felt worthless, and you're the one who made me doubt myself, Ino!" Her voiced reached a crescendo. "You and your goddamn perfectness, never making a mistake, never . . ." She shook her head, voice choked from crying. "I . . . I wanted to be like you!"

The blonde ninja's eyes widened. "So that's how you see it."

This threw Sakura off. She looked up, mouth quivering. "W-what do you mean?"

Ino grabbed Sakura's shoulder. "_You're _the perfect one, _you're _the one who's always been on that pedestal, don't you see?!"

Sakura stared into Ino's eyes. The blonde was angry, she new that—but there was something else in her gaze.

Sakura's breathing hitched. Ino was as lonely as she was. Hadn't they been through everything together, after all? Maybe she understood. Maybe there was something there, in her heart, something for Sakura . . .

The pink-haired ninja didn't dare move, close as she was to the other kunoichi. Ino had stopped yelling as suddenly as a clap of thunder, and now she was just looking into Sakura's eyes.

The blonde leaned forward and Sakura moved away, but Ino was too fast. She grabbed her rival's wrists and brought her closer. "Don't you see? Don't you see, Sakura?"

The pink-haired kunoichi looked down at Ino's hand. A scarlet ribbon was clenched tightly in her grip. The blonde's hand over hers loosened a little.

"Don't you miss it? Just a little?" Ino's voice faltered and she gripped Sakura's wrist tighter again.

"What?"

"The way things used to be. Everything. You and me—friends—nothing could separate us . . ." Ino turned to gaze up at the moon, but her eyes weren't looking at it. She was imagining the way things used to be. Instead of the moon she saw her rival's face, smiling and laughing. The blonde shook herself and turned back to Sakura, a desperate light in her eyes. "Tell me you miss it!"

For one more moment she looked into Sakura's eyes—the girl's face was bathed in moonlight, making the trails of her tears glisten faintly, her eyes red and puffy from crying—and Sakura looked back, no longer shrinking away. They were holding hands like they had done that summer years before, the ribbon clasped between their palms, moving slowly in the wind.

Ino lifted a hand slowly to reach up and cup Sakura's cheek. The other ninja didn't move away or break her gaze. Ino opened her mouth to speak again. "Do you think we can make things the way they were before?"

Sakura blinked, another tear rolling down her cheek. She was smiling ever so faintly—it could almost be mistaken for a trick of the shadows dancing from the cherry blossoms tossed in the wind. "I've always wanted that," she whispered, leaning into Ino's hand, which was still on her cheek. Her tone was sincere, but there was something else too—she wasn't quite finished. "I still want it. But . . ." Sakura took a step closer to Ino and the blonde ninja's arm automatically moved to circle her shoulders. Ino looked into Sakura's eyes—the pink-haired ninja was tired of being alone and Ino wanted nothing more than to hold her close. "But . . . could you . . ."

Ino took the back of the other ninja's head, bringing her closer and kissing her lips tenderly. She felt Sakura relax against her.

The kiss deepened, and Sakura felt herself pushed back against the metal railing. Her knees buckled as Ino's arms wrapped around her. She gasped for breath and Ino pulled away, moving down to kiss her neck and then her collar bone.

"Ino," she murmured, shivering as her rival's hands crept up the back of her shirt. "Ino . . . please . . ."

The blonde kunoichi pulled Sakura to the ground, fumbling with the other ninja's shirt. Sakura froze as she was pushed down on her back. Her bare skin pressed against the frigid metal, she had given up completely to the cold. "Ino!" she growled, "please take me inside!"

The blonde removed her lips from Sakura's neck and looked down into her eyes. The pink-haired ninja saw that emotion again, the thing she couldn't define. Now, at least, she knew how it felt . . . and she didn't want to live without it.

"Take me inside," she whispered. "Stupid baka . . ." The pink-haired kunoichi grinned and leveled a punch at Ino's head but the blonde ducked around it and caught her lips in another kiss. She picked the pink-haired kunoichi up in her arms. Sakura felt warmth flood over her as they entered the Hokage's Mansion. She buried her face in Ino's neck, closing her eyes tight.

When she opened them she was in her room and the blonde was laying her down on the bed. Ino closed the window and immediately came back. "You're not alone anymore," Ino said hoarsely, sitting down and hugging the other girl.

Sakura smiled and rested her head against Ino's. Over the blonde's shoulder she could see the moon, lighting the cherry blossoms that moved slowly in the wind. "I love you, Ino."

"I'll never understand why."

"Neither will I," Sakura teased, smiling slightly. She sighed in pleasure as the blonde ran her fingers over the bare skin of her back. "But I know I love you."

"How much do you love me?" Ino asked, raising her eyebrows and smirking as she pushed Sakura back on the pillows.

"Hmm . . . enough to . . . to . . . oh forget it, I can't put it into words."

Ino grinned and kissed Sakura again, sliding her hands over the girl's bare shoulders. She felt Sakura reach up and untie her hair, letting the pale yellow locks fall into her face. Ino pulled away breathlessly. "What was that for?"

"I like the way you look with your hair down, Ino-pig."

The blonde ninja blushed, ignoring the insult—which was more of an affectionate term now, anyway. "Thank you, Sakura, but you need to shut up," she murmured, moving her lips closer to the other kunoichi's.

"Why should I shut u—" Sakura was cut off by another kiss. "Mmph!" she squealed.

Inner Sakura and Inner Ino were both smirking and grinning at each other, but soon Inner Sakura's expression turned to that of mindless glee as Ino moved lower to kiss her jaw, and then the base of her neck. When the blonde pulled away, Sakura was breathing heavily.

The two fell asleep curled up next to each other, holding hands that were clasped around the scarlet ribbon. Outside, the moon was setting and the sun was rising to light the cherry petals with its golden glow.

xxx

**A/N: **InoSaku is awesome AND compatible with NaruSasu! Brilliant! And in case you totally missed it, Sakura only felt admiration and envy for Sasuke, while she felt admiration, envy and _love_ for Ino. Aww! X3

Review and tell me if you liked it, and if so, what you liked—of course, I'm also looking for a bit of constructive criticism.

But praise is nice too! XD

- Snow


End file.
